Aerofoil



March 24, 1925 c. F. ADAMS uAEROFOIL Filed April so, 1923 2 Sheets-Shea: 1

March 24, 1925. 1 1,530,635 i c. F. ADAMS AEROFOIL Filed April 30, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l atented Mar. 24, 1925.

omnnncn' r. ADAMS, or narrow, omo.

' Annorom Application fired April so;

T 0 all whom it may concern." Be it known that I, CLARENCE F. ADAMZS,

a citizen of the United States, residing at- Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Aerofoils, of which the following is a specification. r

This invention relates to improvements in 'aerofoil construction.

The general object of this invention is the provision ofan aerofoilwhich has in conjunction therewith means that may be controlled by the operator to increase. thelifta ing power and which serve to give greater '16.

directional stability.

This object is'accomplished by providing.

channels which extend, through the a-erofoils and providing in conjunction therewith means for controlling the. flow oflair there. through and mounting on the lower face of the aerofoils means for forming air tracks which converge at the mouth of the channels, said means also serving to convey air currents to the. channels. V

This and other objects .of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, of which Figurel is a top plan view of an aeroplane including an aerofoil of the improved construction Figure 2 is asection through the fuselage,

. showing the lever means for controlling the valves;

Fi re 1;

Figure igure 4 is a bottom plan view of a sec- .tionof the aerofo-il showing the relative positions of the adapters and tubes;

Figure 5' is a plan view of an adapter;

Fi re 5.

eferring to the above mentioned draw;

ings, in Flgure 1 an aeroplane is shown which consists of afuselage 10, an aerofoil ammblage 11, and various other parts which are notimportant in the description of this aerofoil construction. The aerofoil assemblage 11 consists of the usual cambered aerofoil 12 consistin of a frame covered by a-suitable fabric. ubes 13 are mounted in the aerofoil at intervals and form channels extending through the aerofoil which serves to convey currents of air through the aerofoil.

3 is a section along the line 3+3,

1923. Serial No. 635,673.

serving to-retain the lever in any position to i which it may be moved.

Adapters 19, which consist ofa frame 20 covered with an impervious fabric 21, are mounted on the lower face of the aerofoil. These adapters are preferably given the same camber as the aerofoil. .One adapter islocatedin each-space between the tubes 13 and they extend from near the front edge ofthe .aerofoil to the rear edge; The top elevation of an adapter shows the front por, tion to be elliptical in shape while the rear portion is triangular or the shape of a 'ver-.

tical section through a cone. The adjacent sides of the adapters converge towards the tubes 13 mounted in the aerofoil. The spaces between the adapters forn'r air tracks which,

lead to the tubes 13.

The operation of this device is as follows:'

Considering 'an aeroplane during flight, the lower surface of the lifting aerofolls, cornmonly known as wings, meets .the air,

compresses itand accelerates it downward. As a result of this definite action' there is, of

course, an equal and opposite reaction upwards due to the compressed anbeneath.

The top surface of the lifting aerofoil' in moving forward tends'to leave the air behind thus creating a semi-vacuum or rarefied area over the top of the lifting aerofo'il:

Consequently the pressure of air on the top surface is decreased thus assisting the reaction below to raise the lifting aerofoils. In a lifting aerofoil ofth'e construction set forth inthe abovespecifications, the air is compressed below the aerofoil' as shown while above there is a space in which there -IS a seml-vacuum' In order to increasev the area of thesemi-vacuinn or rarefied air the valvel l may be operated to a-llow the air to pass through the 'aerofoi lgf/i This rush of air through 'the tubes '13 te s to carry the air further away from the top surface of the aerofoil and thus give a greater area of rarefied air above the lifting aero-foi-l. This increases the lifting power and, as apparent from the foregoing sentence, is under the control of the aviator. The adapters,

, ings.

mounted on the under face of the lifting aerofoil, form air tracks which guide the air to the tubes. They also increase the amount of air acted upon by the under sur' face of the lifting aerofoil for a unit oftime. The air passin between 'the adapt:

ers provides what might be called trackage'.

This assists stability.

' I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment ofmy invention I do not limit myself strictly. to the exact details herein illustrated since manifestly the same can be considerablyvaried without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the greatly in giving directional appended claims.

I claim I I 1. A lifting aerofoil of the class described having spaced upper and lower wing coverings, a plurality of openings extending substantially vertically therethrough, and means mounted on the lower face of the aerofoil for guiding the currents ofair in the direction of said openings.

2. A lifting aerofoil of the class described having a plurality, of openings extending therethrough, meanslocated in said openings for controlling the amount of air that passes therethrou'gh,.and means mounted on the lower face of the aerofoil to guide the currents of air in the direction of said open-- 3. A lifting aerofoil of the class described having a plurality of openings extending therethrough, valves mounted in said openings for closing the same, means in conjunction with said valves .for operating them, and means located on the-lower face of the aerofoil for guiding the currents of air in the direction of the'openings.

4. A lifting aerofoil of the class described having means mounted on its lower face to aerofoil ofthe class described comprising a cambered aerofoil, tubes mounted in the aerofoil and forming channels which extend there-, through, and adapters, the front ends of which are of elliptical shape and-the rear ends triangular shape, mounted on the lower face of the aerofoil and serving to form tracks which converge near the lower end 'of the tube.

7. In an aeroplane, a lifting aerofoil of the class described, comprising a cambered aerofoil, adapters mounted on'the lower face of the aerofoil, serving to form air tracks which converge comparatively near the front edge of the aerofoil, tubes mounted in the aerofoil forming channelswhich extend from the air tracks through the aerofoil to the upper surface of the same, and valves "for closing the tubes.

8.. As a new article of manufacture, a curved lifting aerofoil having openings extending therethrough, adapters, the front ends of which are elliptical in shape and the rear ends of triangular shape, covered with an impervious material and mounted on the lower face of the aerofoil forn'iing air tracks which converge comparatively near the front edge of the aerofoil, tubes mounted in the aerofoil to form channels which extend from the air tracks through the upper Wall'of the aerofoil to convey air to the air tracks through the'aerofoil, valves mounted in the tubes for controllingthe flow of air, and lever means for operating the valves.

9. In an aeroplane, a lifting aerofoil of the class described, comprising a curved aerofoil having means mounted on the lower i face for creating converging air tracks, tubes mounted in the aerofoil and extendin therethrough. to form channels which lea from the airtracks through the aerofoil to convey currents of air through the aerofoil to increase the rarefaction above the latter,

and means for controlling the flow of air through said channels.

10. A lifting aerofoil of the class described havin a plurality of openings extending theretIirough, means mounted on the lower face of the aerofoil for guiding the currents of air in the direction of said openings, said means forming venturi shaped passages having said openings located at the restricted portion thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CLARENCE F. ADAMS. 

